Broomfield News

BVSD, Adams 12 graduation rates improve

By By Amy Bounds

Boulder Daily Camera

Posted:
01/25/2013 04:54:15 PM MST

Boulder Valley School District's overall graduation rate is up to close to 90 percent, and its Latino graduation rate made a significant one-year jump, according to data released Thursday by the state.

Adams 12 school district also saw a jump in its overall graduation rate.

About 78 percent of Boulder Valley's Latino students graduated high school on time last school year, compared to about 68 percent the year before. That 10-percentage point improvement is the largest gain the district has made since a comprehensive effort to reduce the dropout rate and bump up the graduation rate began six years ago.

Locally, Broomfield High School had an overall graduation rate of 93.1 percent and a Latino graduation rate of 93.8 percent.

Peak to Peak Charter School and Fairview High School had the highest overall graduation rates in the district at 98.5 and 97.2, respectively.

In Adams 12 school district, the overall graduation rate was 79 percent — an improvement of about 5 percentage points.

The district's graduation rate has increased the past two years, or every year since the new four-year "on time" formula for calculating graduation rates was established by the U.S. Department of Education beginning with the class of 2010, according to a news release from the district.

Locally the graduation rates at Legacy High School were 90.1 percent overall and 80.8 percent for Latinos.

Legacy's overall rate was second highest in the district, behind only Horizon High School in Thornton, which had a graduation rate of 90.8 percent.

Statewide, the graduation rate is 75.4 percent.

To be counted in the on-time graduation rate, students must graduate from high school four years after transitioning from eighth grade.

Deirdre Pilch, Boulder Valley's assistant superintendent for school leadership, said the improvement to the district's Latino graduation rate — and the graduation rate overall — is the result of systemic change.

"What we are seeing is the impact of multiple years of efforts that resulted in a far greater number of students being prepared for on-time graduation," she said. "It's amazing what the schools have done and what the families have done."

The improvement in Adams 12 also was a team effort, according to Superintendent Chris Gdowski.

"We believe this improvement is a result of our collective efforts to take a more individualized approach to helping our students graduate on time and prepare for post-secondary opportunities," Gdowski stated in the news release.

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